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Old Soldiers Never Die
Old Soldiers Never Die is a short story which first appeared in Wings magazine Vol. 1 No. 1 1934. It was later gathered and published, with other Johns short stories as part of The Raid in 1935. The story is considered one of Johns' adult series and does not feature any of his recurrent characters. Synopsis Torn by civil war, the principality of Sovonia needs an air force in a hurry and summons Captain Jerry Barton, late of the R.F.C., and sales representative of the Falkner Aviation Company. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Prince Alexis Rowenstein, the Prince Regent of Sovonia is in trouble. His country is in danger of being overrun by rebels assisted by a "foreigner" who is flying a fighter aircraft. Rowenstein berates his Chancellor Blaumaer for raising objections when one Captain Jerry Barton had attempted to sell them the Falcon fighter from the Falkner Aviation Company and now the other side has aircraft and they do not. Blaunmaer complains that it was too expensive but Rowenstein brushes him aside: he has asked Barton to come back. Slyly, the prince tells Blaunmaer that it might not be as expensive as he feared. When Barton appears, the Prince tells him that Sovonia wished to reconsider the purchase of the Falcon fighter. But first they needed to see a demonstration under actual combat conditions. A fighter operated by the rebels had been harassing the Sovonian troops. If Barton's Falcon could shoot it down, Sovonia would place a substantial order for Falcons. Barton is not easily taken in. He will do the demonstration, but first he wants payment in gold sufficient to guarantee the order and this must be deposited in an English bank. There would be a clause in the agreement to allow Sovonia to withdraw the gold if Barton failed. The Prince reluctantly agrees and Barton takes off to do his demonstration over the battlefield, watched by the Prince and Blaunmaer. The rebel fighter appears and begins to strafe the Sovonian troops. Barton's Falcon dives on it and a dogfight ensues. At first the rebel plane appears to have the upper hand but after several minutes, Barton manages to hit his opponent. It staggers away trailing smoke and then falls in a spin, disappearing behind mountains in rebel held territory. The Sovonian troops cheer. Some time later, Jerry Barton meets his Falkner aviation colleague Bill Reeves in Paris. Barton tells Reeves the sale of the Falcons to Sovonia had gone through. Barton praises Reeves for the good show he had put up. It turns out that Reeves had been flying the rebel machine! He had put up a convincing fight using stannic chloride to trail smoke. He also managed to sell the rebel side some planes! Characters *Captain Jerry Barton *Bill Reeves *Prince Alexis Rowenstein *Blaunmaer Aircraft *Falkner Falcon *Other Falkner aircraft Places Visited *Sovonia *Paris **Rotisserie Perigoudine Mentioned *Le Bourget Research Notes References Category:Other short stories Category:Adult short stories